Tom Savage’s NFL Draft prospects have sparked strong opinions on both sides of the spectrum, but you won’t find them from ESPN’s Jon Gruden.

On a conference call Tuesday prepping for next week’s three-day draft, Gruden said he’s unsure if Savage — who played two seasons at Rutgers — has a real draft grade or is the product of agent hype.

“Savage is one of the great American mysteries right now,” Gruden said.

Savage threw for more than 2,700 yards in two seasons at Rutgers, but he missed seven games because of separate hand, head and rib injuries. Chas Dodd replaced him as a sophomore in 2010, and Savage transferred to Arizona in the offseason.

Advertisement

He never played a down for the Wildcats.

After sitting out in 2011, spread-offense enthusiast Rich Rodriguez took over, installing a system that proved a poor fit for the immobile Savage. Whispers of a return to Rutgers gained momentum.

But Savage ended up at Pittsburgh, where he started all 13 games last season and threw for nearly 3,000 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His 138.2 rating was a career high.

Gruden says Savage’s complicated past makes for a tough evaluation.

“Rutgers, he lost his job,” Gruden said. “He left and went to Arizona. Rich Rodriguez brought the spread offense to Tuscon, and he left Arizona and went to Pitt. He threw for just over 60 percent, he’s a pocket passer. You can see he has a big arm.”

When Savage hears his name called next week, he will be the first former Rutgers quarterback drafted since Mike Teel in 2009, months before Savage arrived in Piscataway.

What day that will happen that remains mostly speculation.

Savage initially earned a modest draft outlook. But talk of a better draft grade gained steam after the NFL Combine, so much so that the MMQB’s Peter King said he could be a second- or even late first-round pick.

A deep quarterback class could work against him.

Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Central Florida’s Blake Bortles and Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater have long garnered the most attention. A second tier that includes Fresno State’s Derek Carr, Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo and Alabama’s AJ McCarron nips at their heels.

The middle rounds figure to see the greatest a haul. A team that drafts Savage will have to wade through the uncertainty.

“He got hurt in the bowl game against Bowling Green, so it is a limited body of work,” Gruden said. “He is a pocket passer with a strong arm. I’m sure some people have seen it and fell in love with him because of that. There are not a lot of quarterbacks in college football that drop back and throw it anymore. Savage is clearly one of them.”